Bruce Lee Podcast

#10 Simplicity, Directness, Freedom

In this week’s episode we talk about the three core tenets of Jeet
Kune Do: Simplicity, Directness, Freedom. Bruce Lee applied these
tenets to martial arts, but also to everyday life. Shannon shares
the story of the pivotal fight that led Bruce Lee to develop his
own martial arts philosophy and way: Jeet Kune Do. In Bruce Lee’s
words: “The art of Jeet Kune Do is simply to simplify. Jeet Kune Do
avoids the superficial, penetrates the complex, goes to the heart
of the problem and pinpoints the key factors. Jeet Kune Do does not
beat around the bush. It does not take winding detours. It follows
a straight line to the objective. Simplicity is the shortest
distance between two points. Jeet Kune Do favors formlessness so
that it can assume all forms and since Jeet Kune Do has no style,
it can fit in with all styles. As a result, Jeet Kune Do utilizes
all ways and is bound by none and, likewise, uses any techniques or
means which serve its end.” Essentially: Taking what is useful and
rejecting what is useless. You have to know the rules to rewrite
the rules. The problem is never apart from the solution, the
solution is within the problem, if you’re willing to confront and
face the problem. “To realize freedom, the mind has to learn to
look at life without the bondage of time. For freedom lies beyond
the field of consciousness, don’t stop and interpret “Hey I’m free”
then you’re living in a memory of something that has now gone.” If
we, in our own lives, start to hack away at the unnecessary, take
out everything we don’t need or that we thought we needed but
don’t, that will give us the space to explore what it’s like to be
free from ego, free from form, free to express our true selves. The
mark of genius is to see and express what is simple, simply. True
freedom relies on the balance of structure and formlessness.
“Learning Jeet Kune Do is not a matter of seeking knowledge or
accumulating stylized pattern, but is discovering the cause of
ignorance.” “If you follow the classical pattern, you’re
understanding the routine, the tradition, the shadow, you are not
understanding yourself.” What you can do to practice this
philosophy: Look around your own life and ask how can I be more
direct? How can I simplify? What can I let go of? What is
cluttering up my life right now? Pick a space (physical space or
they way we do something) and ask what is the most useful part of
this? And strip away the useless. We’d love to hear about your
experiences applying this philosophy to your life. Feel free to
share with us via social media @BruceLee or at hello@brucelee.com
#AAHA (Awesome Asians and Hapas) This week’s #AAHA shout-out goes
to Jake Shimabukuro, the talented ukulele musician and composer. He
is constantly breaking expectations and exploring his instrument.
He’s also a big Bruce Lee fan: “As I got older,” he says, “I
realized that I could also learn from guitar players, drummers,
violinists, pianists, singers and even dancers. And then I started
to observe athletes. Athletes are artists too. I was heavily
influenced by people like Bruce Lee and Michael Jordan – applying
their philosophy and intense, mental focus to music performance.”
#BruceLeeMoment Jake Shimabukuro is also this week’s
#BruceLeeMoment! “With Bruce Lee, I was really into his philosophy
and the way he approached martial arts. All this mixed martial arts
that you see now, that was his concept decades before. I kind of
wanted to take that mindset of a mixed martial artist and bring it
to music. Like being an MMA musician in a way where you learn to
appreciate all different styles of music. And then you take the
thing that runs parallel to your taste and expresses who you are.
That was, in a nutshell, what Bruce Lee was all about. Martial arts
to him was a form of human expression.” Share your #AAHA and
#BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee
or email us at hello@brucelee.com.

About the Podcast

Join Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee and cultural anthropologist Sharon Ann Lee for a conversation about the life and philosophy of Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee was a famous martial artist, movie star and cultural icon--but his philosophy has caught fire around the world inspiring millions searching for meaning and consciousness. Each episode will dig deep into Bruce’s philosophy to provide guidance and action on cultivating your truest self.
“Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water my friend.”